Miami Hurricanes

Canes nab another 2022 commitment, this time from Tampa area

/0 Comments/in , /by

All while the Canes round up their 2021 recruiting class and begin Fall camp, they still found time to get a head start on the next one.

 

 

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker secured a commitment from four-star DT Brandon Cleveland on Friday. Cleveland is the second commitment for the Class of 2022, joining DE Jamaal Jackson, and hails from the Carrollwood Day School in Tampa. He chose the Canes over Florida State.

 

He is currently ranked as the 13th-best DT in the nation amongst current high school juniors and 175th overall according to the 247Sports Composite.

 

Measuring in at 6’3”, 260 pounds, Cleveland is the perfect blend of size and speed as his coaches have lined him up on the inside and outside. He compiled 76 tackles, 18 TFL’s, and 9.5 sacks to go along with a blocked punt when he played for Seffner Christian Academy. 

It is early to project which positions are going to be a priority for Miami in the 2022 class due to the uncertainty over which players leave early for the NFL Draft but also the eligibility of early enrollees in the 2021 class should the season be pushed to spring.

 

Stay tuned to 5 Reasons Sports for the latest in Miami Hurricanes news.

Miami Heat’s Adebayo, Nunn Among NBA Award Finalists

/0 Comments/in /by

The NBA released their top 3 finalists for each NBA award today, which included Miami’s Kendrick Nunn and Bam Adebayo. These awards are given based on the player’s play before the NBA shut down, which was when Heat players were rolling. Here’s the award finalists, along with some predictions.

Most Valuable Player Finalists: Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and James Harden

There was not much of a surprise here, since these three guys have been the best players of the 2020 season statistically. But, this award is not a statistical award. The reason for the award was to reward the player who was the most “valuable” to their team. For example, players like Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler have been two of the most valuable pieces this season due to their leadership to elevate their respective teams. This is not to say that these guys shouldn’t be the finalists, since Lebron and Giannis have lead their teams to the number one seed in their respective conferences. Giannis should have the slight edge over LeBron for reasons that include: a better record, not having a top 5 second option, and a case could be made a harder conference. But, if this award is just based on statistics, maybe it’s best to change the award to Best Statistical Player.

Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo

 

Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Kendrick Nunn

It was pretty clear that Ja Morant and Zion Williamson would be numbers one and two on this ballot, but some questioned the third slot. Kendrick Nunn was the second best rookie in the league before Zion Williamson made his NBA debut, and he was still up their with these guys after his return. Some of Kendrick’s latest play has forced people not to remember his offensive success early in the season, mostly because it’s been about 12 months since the season first began. And as mentioned in the tweet above, he hasn’t had the easiest route to where he is now. Although he’s been great for Miami this season, he didn’t carry the same load that a guy like Ja Morant did, which gives him the slight edge.

Prediction: Ja Morant

 

Most Improved Player: Bam Adebayo, Brandon Ingram, Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic being considered a most improved player surprised some people, but it really isn’t that crazy. Luka went from 21 points a game to 29 points a game, and increased his assist and rebound average by 3 and 2 respectively. But, he hasn’t made the same improvements that Bam Adebayo and Brandon Ingram did. The reason the Ingram and Adebayo race is so close is because their games are totally different. Ingram is a natural scorer while Bam is an all around player. This is another award that the NBA seems to always look in the PPG column, when in reality it’s about total improvements. Bam has went from a back up center to a top 5 center in the NBA, and has played a major role on a contender while Ingram wasn’t even a contender for an eight seed until he had the help of Zion Williamson. Based on an all around improvements, Bam Adebayo clearly has the edge over Brandon Ingram and Luka Doncic.

Prediction: Bam Adebayo

 

Defensive Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert

While these three players have clearly been at the front of this award all season, there are some other names that should’ve been considered as well. Ben Simmons and Bam Adebayo are two players that were most likely close behind, since they play both interior and perimeter defense at such a high level. These finalists do this as well, which is why it’s basically a toss up of who you choose. Giannis Antetokounmpo will probably take this award home, due to his strength, quickness, and length on the defensive side. If you asked NBA players who they wouldn’t want to go against out of these three, it would probably be Giannis unanimously, since he’s just a 7 foot athletic freak of nature.

Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo

 

Sixth Man of the Year: Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder, Lou Williams

For starters, how can two people from the same team be considered a “sixth” man. Especially when the stats are so close between a bunch of different bench pieces, including Goran Dragic, how does he get the edge. Not saying he hasn’t been great, because if there was a seventh man award, I’d give it to him. Anyway, Goran Dragic has had as good of a year as both Lou and Dennis had, except Goran’s had to carry much more of a load. Not saying Goran should win the award, but a top three finish should’ve been awarded. And between Lou and Dennis, Dennis should have the edge over Lou Williams this year, due to both efficiency reasons and, as said in the tweet above, not having another bench anchor with him.

Prediction: Dennis Schroder

Daniel Castano

Meet the Marlins: Daniel Castano

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Marlins five-game winning streak has come amid unprecedented roster turnover. The club has made nearly 40 roster moves since resuming their season after an 8-day COVID-19 hiatus. Come game time tonight, Miami will have seen eight straight days of MLB debuts, with the latest being Daniel Castano.

So many new faces have joined the club that Marlins manager Don Mattingly admitted to not having personally met players who were taking the field for him.

“A pretty good roster turnover here,” Mattingly said last week. “Some of the guys I’ve never met and still at this point have not met — texted with, but not met. There are other guys that we’re comfortable with that we know are coming. They were part of our summer camp and actually our spring also so parts of it are comfortable.”

Marlins catcher Francisco Cervelli voiced a similar sentiment, saying he was meeting pitchers for the first time at the mound.

The Marlins will have their ninth different starting pitcher take the hill for their ninth consecutive game. Tonight, it will be 25-year-old prospect Daniel Castano, whose contract was among those selected by the team to fill the void left by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Marlins’ Daniel Castano’s Career Thus Far

Miami acquired Castano as part of the Marcell Ozuna deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. The 25-year-old lefty came to the Marlins with RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Zac Gallen and OF Magneuris Sierra on 12/14/2017. The Cardinals drafted Castano in the 19th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Baylor University.

In 2017 with the Cardinals organization, Castano went 9-3 with a 2.57 ERA for Short Season-A State College over 14 starts, striking out 81 in 91.0 innings. He earned a New York-Penn League Midseason All-Star berth that year.

After coming over to the Marlins, Castano moved through three levels of Single-A ball, ultimately earning an MILB.com Organizational All-Star berth in 2018. He made eight starts for Single-A Greensboro, going 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 50.0 innings and striking out 52. 14 starts for Jupiter followed, going 5-8 with a 4.74 ERA in 76.0 innings. He finished the season in Advanced-A Jupiter. All told, he went with a 9-12 record with a 3.93 ERA.

Castano split 2019 between Advanced-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville. He made 12 appearances for Jupiter, going 0-2 with a 3.82 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched, striking out 31. He earned a promotion to Jacksonville on May 27 and went 7-2 with a 3.35 ERA in 18 games (11 Starts), striking out 73 in 86.0 innings pitched.

Castano doesn’t have overpowering stuff, unlike fellow prospect Jorge Guzman. He registers his outs through command and control. His fastball measures 88-92 mph, topping out at 94. There’s some sink to it and he hides the ball well. He throws strikes and has an effective, slow curveball. He’s has shown considerable growth over his minor league career and will look to fill the void in the starting rotation.

Heat’s Kendrick Nunn leaves NBA Bubble, leaving guard shortage (w/UPDATE)

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Heat, already likely without Goran Dragic (ankle) and Jimmy Butler (foot) for Saturday’s game against the hot Phoenix Suns, will be without Kendrick Nunn for longer.

Nunn left the NBA’s Bubble on Friday to attend to a personal issue, according to multiple sources.

UPDATE: He is expected to return this weekend, to begin the NBA’s mandated quarantine period, which starts at four days. That would make him available for the playoffs that begin the week of August 17th.

The rookie guard was late coming to the Bubble after testing positive for Covid-19, but this is not related to the disease or any other health matter in any way.

It also, according to a source, is not directly related to Nunn’s struggles on the court, which caused coach Erik Spoelstra to publicly support him in a Zoom conference call with media earlier on Friday.

There have been concerns of late inside the organization about Nunn’s focus of late, according to sources. But they were aware he might need to leave the bubble to address the issue.

Without Nunn, the Heat will likely start rookie Tyler Herro — who seems ready for an ascension — or rookie Gabe Vincent, who was listed as probable after being unavailable the past couple of games. Both Herro and Vincent will probably play a lot, because Miami is now very short on perimeter players.

Goran Dragic spoke to the media Friday for the first time since rolling his ankle twice against Boston on Tuesday, and said that the injury was not as bad as he initially thought, and that he would try to get some extra work in on Friday night. But he also said he wants to be judicious, and with the Heat likely headed for a 4 or 5 seed no matter what happens in the final four games, there’s no reason to push him.

 

 

The other question is when Jimmy Butler returns.

He missed Tuesday and Thursday’s game with a sore foot, which is not believed to keep him out for any games once the playoffs start the week of August 17th.

But he also is being careful, as is the team, not to do too much too fast.

And he was at practice with the team.

Erik Spoelstra has spoken about the Heat’s depth being an advantage.

It will certainly be tested now, against a Suns squad that is playing well behind Devin Booker, and aiming for a play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Florida Panthers: Dale Tallon out as general manager after loss

/1 Comment/in /by

The Florida Panthers are making a general manager change. According to multiple media reports, Dale Tallon is out as the team’s general manager.

Tallon joined the Florida Panthers on May 17, 2010, replacing Randy Sexton. Tallon was coming off a Stanley Cup ring with Chicago, and seemed pretty convincing during his introductory press conference

Despite the lack of sustainable success in recent years, he did have some successful years in Florida. In the 2011-12 season, the Panthers compiled a 38-26 record. Nevertheless, they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.

2016 was a another successful season for the organization. With the Panthers posting a 47-26-9 record in the 2015-16 season again, they could not get over the hump of the first round, as they were eliminated by the New York Islanders in six games.

With the Islanders defeating the Florida Panthers on Friday, they were eliminated from the best-of-five qualifying series. It was just another unfortunate notch in the belt of a Panthers organization used to early playoff exits.

Florida Panthers have talent to compete

Now, the Panthers are in search for another general manager. There is no doubt that they have young talent in Evgenii Dadonov and Jonathan Huberdeau. those two should carry the team for years to come and make the team competitive.

This season in particular was marred by several factors. Two of the most glaring ones were a lack of solid defensive play, and inconsistent play from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. In a tough Atlantic Division, every game meant something this season. Too often, Florida found themselves on the precipice of big things, but not where they needed to be in order to compete.

It will be interesting to see who the Panthers tab as a replacement. They are in a unique position right now, and they should definitely take advantage of this window of opportunity.

5 Main Comments from Media Availability with Spoelstra, Dragic, Adebayo

/8 Comments/in /by

The Miami Heat had an early practice on Friday, a day after a loss to the best team in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks. There’s also some injury statuses in question as we get closer and closer to the post-season. Here’s what was said on the call…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Since Miami is set to play Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, Erik Spoelstra spoke a little about him. He said, “We really liked him.” This was referring back to the 2015 draft where Miami had a chance to select Devin at pick 10. Erik also adds, “His game has grown.” The Miami Heat have definitely seen his game continue to grow, which is why they wouldn’t pass on this type of player twice. Tyler Herro has also been looking closely into Devin’s game, since he watches a great amount of film on him. Devin Booker is what all Heat fans want Tyler Herro to become, which can hopefully make up for the 2015 draft decision.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Erik Spoelstra also talked about the recent struggles from point guard Kendrick Nunn. He said, “He just needs more time, similar to Bam.” He also adds that it takes time to regain your rhythm and reminds everybody of how good Kendrick was playing before the break. Something that should be taken into account with these struggles is the recent virus that they contracted. There is still so much unknown to it, that it may impact their bodies even though they were asymptomatic. Bam also mentioned that his body isn’t responding as quickly as it usually does. If this is the case, Kendrick Nunn may be given the ultimate trust from this coaching staff to bounce back from this shooting slump. And as Spoelstra said, “We need him because he provides something that is different.”

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Goran Dragic also spoke with some media about his injury status. He said, “I was a little bit concerned, it was painful, I did it twice in that game…It’s day by day.” Although this team needs Goran Dragic on the floor to be successful, the most important thing is that he is totally 100%. It’s already a risk to play a 34 year old on a back to back, especially when they play a ton of minutes. Goran also mentions that he started shooting today and it’s a little sore, but he thinks he’s going in the right direction. With this injury information pretty clear, there’s still some other unknown injuries on this team, including Heat’s star Jimmy Butler.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Bam Adebayo talked about yesterday’s foul situation and if he’d like to play through it. He said, “It depends on the situation and the game flow.” He says that if they are in a good rhythm than he would encourage the team to let him play through it, but in a situation like yesterday, “It’s a hard decision.” On a night where Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic are out, you need an offensively active Bam Adebayo, But since he got in foul trouble early, it definitely turned the tide. Bam Adebayo seems to thrive with his co-star, Jimmy Butler, out on the floor, which is why there shouldn’t be too much worry about this situation.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Erik Spoelstra made a decision at the beginning of this NBA restart, which was taking Meyers Leonard from a starter to out of the rotation. Spoelstra said, “These are tough situations…I had to treat that situation with an open mind.” This decision seemed to be made for versatility reasons. This team’s roster is filled with versatile wings that can defend, which has seemed to fix the defensive problems. But, it definitely was surprising that he wouldn’t be getting any minutes off of the bench. He also mentions that Meyers “helped us win” this season, but feels this is best for them right now. He says he’s open to change if necessary as time progresses.

Marlins sweep

Marlins Sweep Orioles, Improve to 6-1

/1 Comment/in /by

The Miami Marlins completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. The 8-7 victory felt different than the pitchers’ duels earlier in the series, but the Marlins completed the sweep thanks to timely hitting and great work from the backend of the bullpen.

The unlikely nature of this win streak comes as the team has reshaped their roster coming off of an 8-day quarantine in Philadelphia. The Marlins have won five games in a row, including the four-game sweep, despite making 36 different roster moves this week.

Bullpen Has Been Key

In 2019, the Marlins featured one of the worst bullpens in MLB. Miami relievers posted the fifth-worst ERA (4.97), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.11) and save percentage (55.1). Their WHIP (1.45) was seventh worst. Relievers blew 22 save opportunities and surrendered a .235 batting-average-against and .343 on-base percentage.

It’s been a very different story thus far in 2020. The new-look Marlins bullpen has looked good. In the four-game series versus the Orioles, Marlins relievers surrendered just three earned runs and gave up seven walks over 18.2 IP. They registered 15 strikeouts over that span. The bullpen is 4-for-4 in save situations this season.

The pitching staff in total posted solid performances almost across the board. The Marlins limited Baltimore to 3-for-25 with runners-in-scoring-position. Marlins pitchers combined for 31 strikeouts over the 32 innings of the sweep.

Jordan Yamamoto struggled in his 2020 debut, but he did not issue a walk. Yamamoto’s problem seemed to be location, which led to several hard hits including a pair of home runs. Intriguing pitching prospect Jorge Guzman made his MLB debut and finished his first inning of work cleanly on six pitches. But his second inning of work saw him surrender two home runs, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Timely Hitting

The Marlins offense stayed relatively quiet through the first three games of the series but woke up on Thursday night. The team posted eight runs on 11 hits. Miami managed to go 4-for-12 with runners-in-scoring position and answered each Baltimore rally with one of their own.

Brian Anderson continued his hot start to the season going 2-for4 with a triple and three RBI. Jonathan Villar posted his first three-hit night as a Marlin, starting with a lead-off homer. It was Villar’s seventh career lead-off blast and the 14th time in club history that a Marlins home run came off the first pitch of the game.

Monte Harrison collected his first Major League hit. He reached base on an infield single in the sixth inning, and immediately registered the first stolen base of his career right after.

Speed and Versatility

The Marlins rolled out maybe the fastest outfield in franchise history with Harrison, Lewis Brinson and Magneuris Sierra to start the game. And that speed came in clutch throughout, as they were able to track down hard-hit fly balls and save runs.

Harrison’s running grab in the second limited the Orioles to just one run that inning. The Marlins took the lead back the following half-inning when Sierra’s sac-fly scored Brinson, who’d walked and reached third on a Logan Forsythe double.

Sierra flashed his speed in the fourth. After a HBP, Sierra scored from first on a soft single to right by Villar. His speed from first-to-third pressured Orioles RF Anthony Santander into a throwing error, and Sierra scored.

Marlins Sweep Orioles, but What’s Next?

The Marlins traveled to New York overnight ahead of a three-game set against the division rival Mets (5-8). The Mets have won two of their last three after dropping five in a row. They have some injury issues though, as Robinson Canó, Jeff McNeil and Amed Rosario have all missed games recently. This after Yoenis Cespedes opted out for the 2020 season.

Miami are scheduled to face RHP Michael Wacha (1-1, 6.00 ERA), LHP David Peterson (1-1, 3.86 ERA), and ace RHP Jacob DeGrom (1-0, 2.12 ERA) in the series.

The Marlins have yet to name their starter for Friday’s game, though recent call up LHP Daniel Castano (27-24, 3.76 ERA, 335 K, 59 minor league starts) could get the nod. Another option could be taxi squad player RHP Humberto Mejia (13-16, 240 ERA 268 K, 43 minor league starts).

The Marlins have five games remaining on this road trip and have a real shot to be at least 8-4 coming home. Prior to the season, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said: “In a 60-game season, there’s a lot of momentum. You go 8-4 out of the gate, you’ve played 20 percent of your season, and you put pressure on teams.”

Mattingly passed Jack McKeon on the all-time wins list for Marlins managers after securing his 282nd win with the Marlins sweep.

He downplayed tying McKeon for wins record prior to Thursday’s game.

“Jack did a tremendous job with the Marlins, coming in and getting a world championship. Jack’s the man. I can’t take it too serious knowing that our win percentage has not been very good while I’ve been here.”

Mattingly noted he’s been with the Marlins a while (this is his fifth season).

“Hopefully I’ve been through the worst,” Mattingly said. “I was happy Derek wanted me back this year because I wanted to finish the job, knew what kind of talent we had coming. I think continuity is part of creating consistency.”

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Late Collapse Against Milwaukee

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Heat played a tough game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday afternoon without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, and fell short 130-116. This game was clearly a tale of two halves, since Miami came out with fire in their eyes in the first half and became slightly complacent in the second half. Here’s my five takeaways from this game…

#1: Although a tough outcome, Miami should feel better than Milwaukee does.

The Miami Heat were going into a match-up with the best team in the NBA without two main pieces, Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic. But well, the team showed up in the first half. Emphasis on first half. They played at an elite level on both sides of the ball, which was pretty suprising. But, they slowly fell apart in the second half. It was evident this was because they did not have a go to guy on the floor. All of the best lineups this season included either Goran Dragic or Jimmy Butler. This is why Miami fans should feel pretty good about this game. Without veteran leadership on the court, it’s hard for guys to sustain a lead or close a game. With a healthy Jimmy and Goran, Milwaukee should hope that they don’t have to face this physical Heat team.

#2: Tyler Herro’s scoring wasn’t even his best attribute.

Tyler Herro exploded in the first half for 16 points, which lead to Miami’s huge lead. He proved that he can be good at many aspects of his game including his play-making, rebounding, and most importantly defense. His defense has been in question for quite some time along with his teammates Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn. But the difference with Tyler is that he continues to improve on defense every night. He played exceptional on-ball defense on the offensively talented guards and wings from Milwaukee’s roster. Tyler will need to clean up some mistakes with decision making that have consequently lead to turnovers, but the more he plays in games like this, the more he will learn.

#3: Miami’s wings prove to be the only viable Giannis stoppers. Well kind of.

The Heat began the game the same way they did in their two previous match-ups. Frustrating Giannis. Miami has pretty much showed that their plan against the Bucks is to contain Giannis, and let the supporting cast beat you. They continued to double team and draw fouls on Antetokounmpo, which lead to Miami’s huge lead. Miami’s ability to throw multiple bodies at Giannis is what separates them from the rest. They threw Bam, Crowder, Iguodala, and DJJ at him throughout, since this seems to be their only offense during tough stretches. But, you can only contain him so much. On a day that didn’t seem to go very well for Giannis, he still ended up with 33 points on 77% shooting. This will be a rough series for Giannis if they were to match-up, since he will have to outwork all of these guys 4 out of 7 times.

#4: Duncan Robinson is clearly an elite shooter, but finally overcoming tough defense. 

Duncan Robinson has not only been an outstanding three point shooter, but an absolute efficient one. There began to be uncertainty if teams would begin to figure out Duncan’s game, like Toronto did early in the week, but he’s beginning to overcome it. He continues to show that he will need much more than a hand in his face to not have a green light. He has been using a pump-fake and side step fadeaways much more comfortably than he did before the NBA restart. Duncan is beginning to realize how huge his offensive role is on this team, which is why Miami runs on Duncan.

#5: Kendrick Nunn may be slowly playing his way out of the starting lineup.

Kendrick Nunn has been such an intriguing young player this season since he was a natural scorer. But well, this hasn’t been the case as of late. In a game that was supposed to be his breakout game, without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, it still didn’t occur. He scored 14 points on 29% shooting, and still has not shown improvements on the defensive side of the ball. And with Tyler Herro’s continued scoring and defensive improvements, he may be getting closer and closer to that starting point guard spot. If Kendrick doesn’t fix this quick, Spoelstra will have to make the decision going forward, which may occur even faster than you may expect.

Miami Hurricanes: DE Greg Rousseau opts out in blow to ‘Canes defense

/1 Comment/in /by

Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Greg Rousseau has opted out of the 2020 season . In an announcement made by Manny Diaz during his press conference on Thursday, the tackle is not coming back to Miami.

Last season, he completely tore up the gridiron for Miami. He recorded 54 total tackles and 15.5 sacks. In addition, he forced two fumbles. His best game of the 2019 season came against Duke. In what was a 27-17 loss for the Hurricanes, he was a bright spot. Rousseau recorded nine tackles and two sacks.

This is a huge loss for the Miami Hurricanes, as he is considered a top draft prospect. He was also considered a first-round selection for the 2021 Draft.

As expected, reactions poured in from the Miami coaching staff. As the announcement came during his press conference, Diaz had nothing but support for his player.

“As a coach we are for these young men and advocates for them,” Diaz said. “We want what is best for him and if that is what he has chosen, we support that.”

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker also showed support for his player.

“Really couldn’t be happier for Greg. We support him 100 percent in his decision. We’d had some conversations with him in the previous days and knew that it was something on his mind. But at the end of the day, like I said, we support him 100 percent in that decision.

“Obviously, guys have got to step up and that’s why you sign a guy like Quincy Roche and obviously Jaelan Phillips from a year ago and Jahfari Harvey… It’s by far, our deepest position, probably, on the defensive side of the ball. Definitely excited by the guys that are going to be playing for us this season as well.”

Those aforementioned players have some big shoes to fill. However, Miami definitely has some talent at the position, and it just speaks to how important their last couple pickups have been. It will be interesting to see what the Hurricanes do to offset this loss defensively and if in fact Harvey and Phillips can step up.

Taylor-Made to be a Cane: five-star prospect picks Miami

/0 Comments/in , /by

On this episode of the Canes chasing the Palmetto 5, you’re getting another good ending. As a matter of fact, a great ending.

Joined by his mother, father, and brother, five-star DT Leonard Taylor announced his commitment to the University of Miami on CBS Sports HQ, picking the Canes over Florida. 

 

Taylor is ranked as the 3rd-best DT in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite and 27th overall. He is the 2nd five-star prospect in Miami’s 2021 class, joining American Heritage safety James Williams. This also puts Miami in great company with Alabama and Ohio State as the only programs in the nation with multiple five-star commits. 

 

LT put up monster numbers in his junior season. Helping Palmetto go 10-2 along with an appearance in the 8A regional semifinals, he compiled 68 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, 11 sacks, as well as two interceptions. 

 

Taylor is now the third prospect from Miami Palmetto to commit to Miami, joining three-star WR Brashard Smith and four-star DT Savion Collins.

 

Although he is currently listed at 6’4”, 255 pounds on 247, he has definitely added a lot of good weight since. From time to time, Taylor posts videos on Twitter of him working out (in full orange and green) and looks very athletic for a defensive tackle. He even plays for Palmetto’s basketball team and with his size and speed, he has the versatility to play inside and outside on the defensive line. 

 

With Taylor in the fold, Miami jumps from 11th in the 247Sports team rankings to 8th.

 

Manny Diaz and company continue to kill it on the recruiting trail and are taking full advantage not only of the pandemic, but of the big pool of talent in South Florida in the 2021 class. 

 

The Canes still await the decisions of two Palmetto prospects. One is five-star CB Jason Marshall, who is currently at odds between Miami and Alabama although most of the crystal ball picks on 247Sports point to Miami. The other is four-star safety Corey Collier, who is slated to pick between the Canes, Florida, and LSU on August 10th on CBS Sports HQ. 

 

Stay tuned to 5 Reasons Sports for the latest in Miami Hurricanes news.